The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a difficult situation after the dissolution of the Social Fund of the DRC (FSRDC) and the creation of a public body bearing the same name. This action is likely to cost the DRC a financing of 1 billion US dollars of humanitarian and development projects of the World Bank.
The legal agreements between the World Bank and the DRC specified that the FSRDC was the entity in charge of the implementation of three projects for a total amount of 1.04 billion US dollars. These projects include the Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response Project (PRVBG) for US$100 million, the Eastern DRC Stabilization Project for Peace (STEP) for US$695 million and the Eastern Stabilization and Recovery Project (STAR-East) for US$250 million.
Unfortunately, this decision taken without consultation with the World Bank could have an impact on the 616,380 direct beneficiaries of the projects concerned by the dissolution of the FSRDC, according to a correspondence from the World Bank signed by its Director of Operations for the DRC, Albert Zeufack.
Moreover, this decision is not in conformity with the legal agreements signed between the government and the World Bank. The latter calls on the Congolese authorities to cooperate fully in order to ensure the achievement of the projects’ objectives.
The interruption of project activities could have serious consequences for the DRC, in particular with regard to the suspension of disbursements for these projects and the need to establish transitional measures to guarantee the use of funds for the intended purposes in accordance with the World Bank investment project financing policy.
This situation could also lead to the interruption of approximately 5,000 individual consultant contracts under the STEP 2 project related to the construction of basic infrastructure (IBD) in six provinces, for a total cost of 492 contracts.
The World Bank calls on the Congolese government to communicate officially with stakeholders and beneficiaries in order to inform about the stopping and interruptions of project activities.
Ultimately, this precarious situation exposes the multiple challenges facing the DRC in the fight against poverty and economic development, including the need for effective collaborations and urgent responses to resolve these situations.